Evan Ebel threatened to make prison guard beg for her life

A Colorado Department of Corrections staffer walks along the third level of cell house #8 at the Fremont Correctional Facility in Canon City in 2011. Evan Ebel was here March 2005 to October 2006. (THE DENVER POST file | ANDY CROSS)

Evan Spencer Ebel (Colorado Dept. of Corrections)

A man who has become the prime suspect in the murder of Colorado's prison chief had 28 disciplinary write-ups in prison, including repeatedly threatening to kill or beat prison staff.

Evan Ebel spent nearly his entire eight years in prison in administrative segregation before he was released on mandatory parole on Jan. 28, according to Colorado Department of Corrections records released Thursday.

Ebel — nicknamed "Evil Ebel" behind bars — violated rules almost immediately after he entered the prison, and he continued violating rules up until at least one month before his release.

Incarceration History

He told her "that he would kill her if he ever saw her on the streets and that he would make her beg for her life." His punishment was 59 days of lost privileges.

In 2005 and 2006, he threatened to kill staff members in two different prisons, according to the records. On another occasion, he threatened to beat staff if they didn't handcuff him.

Ebel, a member of the white supremacist 211 Crew, was disciplined in prison 10 times for verbal abuse, twice for disobeying a lawful order, four times for assault and three times for fighting, the records show. He had tattoos of a swastika on his stomach and Nazi lightning bolts on his left wrist and hand, according to prison records.

"Security Threat Group: Member — 211 crew," a document said.

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A pre-release assessment on Dec. 14 by DOC case manager Donna Sims indicated he was a "very high risk (recidivism odds: two in three.)"

He repeatedly attacked other inmates and staff with his own feces.

Investigators have identified him as the prime suspect in the killing of state prisons chief Tom Clements on his doorstep on March 19.

El Paso County Sheriff's and DOC investigators are looking at whether he acted alone or on order from the 211 Crew.

Denver police are investigating whether Ebel also killed Domino's pizza delivery driver Nathan Leon on March 17. Ebel was killed in a shootout with Texas authorities on March 21 after a high-speed chase.

Ebel was released from Sterling Correctional Facility on Jan. 28.

Ebel first entered prison on Feb. 11, 2005 on a three-year sentence for robbery and menacing out of Jefferson County.

On Oct. 26, 2003, Ebel, then 19, pointed a gun at the head of an acquaintance and demanded cash, the records show. He then went to the acquaintance's Lakewood home where several people were watching a Broncos game. After helping another man bring in groceries, Ebel watched the game for a bit before pulling out a handgun and demanding money.

A warden walks through the Centennial Correctional Facility east of Canon City in 2010. Evan Ebel was here March 2008 to September 2008. (THE DENVER POST file | RJ SANGOSTI)

In June 2005 he was sentenced to eight years in prison for assault and three years for menacing, to be served concurrently.

Westminster police found Ebel hiding in the back seat of someone's car. They found Ebel with a handgun whose serial number had been scratched off. He gave police a phony name, a felony in Colorado.

On April 26, 2004, Commerce City police say, Ebel carjacked a stranger, hitting him with the butt of his gun and stealing his 1998 Ford Mustang before crashing it 10 blocks away and fleeing, the records show. On May 2, 2004, Commerce City police say, Ebel knocked on the front door of a Commerce City home and pointed a gun at the woman who answered, demanding football jerseys that he said belonged to his friend.

This is a danger sign warning of the location of the 'lethal fence in 1999 inside the Sterling Correctional Facility. Evan Ebel was here July 2011 to January 2013. (Denver Post file)

Ebel violated rules almost immediately after he entered the prison.

On May 31, 2005, at Fremont Correctional Facility in Cañon City, Ebel repeatedly kicked the door of his cell and yelled. He was placed in strip cell status. He lost 30 days of earned time.

On June 11, 2005, he flooded the cellblock in E-Block and lost another 30 days of earned time. The same day, "as a result of disruptive and threatening behavior," staff had to cut his T-shirt away. He lost an additional 30 days of earned time and was placed in segregation for 20 days.

On Nov. 7, 2006, a handcuffed Ebel was being moved by two correctional officers. He complained that the handcuffs were too tight. After one of the officers loosened a cuff, Ebel stepped out of his cell, slipped off his cuffs and hit the officer in the face with his fist, cutting his nose and finger.

A disciplinary report says he "threatened to kill staff member & family."

Ebel was charged again, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault of a prison guard and was sentenced to an additional four years in prison. He was required to pay $142.05 in restitution to the correctional officers to pay for uniforms.